Netherlands marks WWII Remembrance with over 480 ceremonies nationwide

More than 480 locations across the Netherlands will host events on Sunday to honor victims of World War II. Of these, 350 will feature memorial services or silent marches, according to a spokesperson from the National Committee for May 4 and 5 Remembrance. A map on the committee’s website shows where and when the local activities are scheduled. Last year, 410 organizers registered for the so-called Remembrance Map.

The National Remembrance ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m. in Amsterdam, where presenter Philip Freriks will deliver the annual May 4 lecture at De Nieuwe Kerk. Following the lecture, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will lay the first wreath at the official ceremony at Dam Square. After the two-minute silence at 8:00 p.m., Prime Minister Dick Schoof will give a speech. The event will be broadcast live by NOS on NPO 1.

As in previous years, the victims of the war will also be remembered at Waalsdorpervlakte, the dune area between The Hague and Wassenaar, where Dutch resistance fighters were executed by the Germans during World War II. The ceremony will be broadcast live by RTL 4 on Sunday evening.

The National Military Remembrance Ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Military Cemetery Grebbeberg in Rhenen, where Defense State Secretary Gijs Tuinman, Pieter van Vollenhoven, and Prince Pieter-Christiaan will attend.

Other memorial services will be held at sites such as Camp Vught and Camp Westerbork. At the memorial cross at Jannetjesdal on the Leusderheide, the 662 victims of Camp Amersfoort will be remembered on Sunday afternoon. These individuals were executed by the Nazis in 1943.

Commandant of the Armed Forces Onno Eichelsheim will deliver a speech at the ceremony at the National Cemetery Loenen on Sunday afternoon. In Utrecht, a memorial service will take place on Sunday evening at Dom Square, where Mayor Sharon Dijksma will address the gathering.

This year, for the first time, an alternative remembrance ceremony will take place in The Hague, initiated by civil servants and former diplomats. The event aims to honor "all individuals who have been victims of genocide, war, persecution, and oppression, including those affected by the actions or inactions of the Dutch government." This initiative reportedly came in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. One of the organizers estimated that around 500 people would attend the alternative ceremony. Similarly, Rotterdam will also host an alternative May 4 commemoration to honor victims of "all wars, genocides, and colonial violence."